Post-Game Talk: Rangers vs. Lightning 02/27/19 - 7:30 EST

[egelband]

Brickley has more or less been an NHL player for the Rangers, which is not what I was expecting.

He brings it HARD for 6 mins a game.

 

[egelband]

And in the end, Quinn discovered that he not only developed the players, but they, too, developed him. ~rolls credits~

Can you do that again. But with the Morgan Freeman voice, please.

 

[Nickmo82]

Tip of the hat to the loser point.

 

[Inferno]

Sweet pick and roll in OT there by Tampa.

Anyway, proud of the boys. Really, I've been proud all season.

Yep..honestly this has been the most fun I've had watching rangers hockey in like 4 years.

They're not super talented but they do a lot of the things I like in a team. When they finally get some talent AND play this way, they're gonna be really good.

 

[trilobyte]

Come on, let's be true.
Skjei is middling. He reminds me of Tyutin. Fedor Tyutin was similar. We really did like him and so much wanted to crown him as an emerging top defenceman for the Rangers (not great, but quite good) but he never really got very far. He was just okay.
Skjei might someday find a place on a 2nd pairing, but not on a Stanley Cup team.
The Rangers just need to be realistic about him. He has been adequate this season but the guy is not a rookie. I just don't agree with those who think he is a keeper.

 

[Seanharold]

more meaningless points for that awesome 11th overall pick!

 

[SML2]

I’m worried the staff and management like him too much and he has far more of a leash than he should. He’s been a below NHL level player for a long time now. There’s no question he should be the 7th D and Smith should be in over him. I know he’s in only his second year but he’s gonna be 24 and has shown little to no progress, if anything regression. It’s disappointing bc he had potential, but I think sadly he’s not gonna cut it here.

My fear is he’s viewed as part of the new young core. He still gets pp and pk time and sometimes leads the team in ice time. How he even sniffs the PK with how atrocious on it makes no sense to me.

I don't have a problem with Pionk. Hopefully this is a big learning year and he does that. What this organization has been able to do, though, is grab a guy out of the recycle bin, shine him up nice and flip him for a pretty good return. I think that will be the move here. Get enough highlights to make some GM think he can get him to the next level with a better supporting cast, buy that GM a couple tall beers over dinner, and pull the trigger.

 

[Jaromir Jagr]

I don't have a problem with Pionk. Hopefully this is a big learning year and he does that. What this organization has been able to do, though, is grab a guy out of the recycle bin, shine him up nice and flip him for a pretty good return. I think that will be the move here. Get enough highlights to make some GM think he can get him to the next level with a better supporting cast, buy that GM a couple tall beers over dinner, and pull the trigger.

I don't know. I hope you're right, but I'm fairly convinced this is one of the guys the Rangers have become ridiculously infatuated with for reasons contrary to their on-ice performance.

I don't see Pionk ever being anything more than an inferior MAB. A Raphael Diaz type. I was hoping they'd move him this deadline.

He sucks and his minutes are far too heavy.

 

[SML2]

I don't know. I hope you're right, but I'm fairly convinced this is one of the guys the Rangers have become ridiculously infatuated with for reasons contrary to their on-ice performance.

I don't see Pionk ever being anything more than an inferior MAB. A Raphael Diaz type. I was hoping they'd move him this deadline.

He sucks and his minutes are far too heavy.

You're right. He plays too much. But this team has too many young dmen in the system for him to hang onto a spot if we have someone better. He's not going to get endless chances like you see with high first rounders.

 

[Larrybiv]

I know we get a first rounder, but if you think I won't root against that team in the SCF, you underestimate how petty I am.

I believe that is called "hedging" your bet. Bet a NICE HEFTY SUM on Tampa LOSING the SCF's.

If the other team wins......YOU WIN a nice sum of money.
If Tampa wins.......YOUR RANGERS get that #1 pick.
Either way YOU win.
You may lose money, but hey you are a diehard.
You may win money.......and they still get a 2nd rounder.
Hmmmmm. Might do the same.
Call it Rangers sacrifice.
The things you do for love.

 

[Larrybiv]

Most times there are 4 choices. 2 obviousl and a "pick em".
Vesey & Lemieux........Strome & Tony D

 

[Larrybiv]

That's fine... As for me... We're winning the lottery, WPG is losing the division and going out in the first round, DAL will re-sign Zucc after their miracle run in the playoffs.

You forgot to add that Tampa wins the cup.......
That will give us 5 first rounders..... the moment Zuccha signs on the dotted line.

 

[Larrybiv]

I don't mean to rain on your parade jas but Chytil doesn't really look all *that* skilled. He'll be good, but I don't see 'top line'.

I'll laugh pretty hard if all his puck control problems were because he had a Kovalchuk level curve on his blade though.

My 1st stick ever.....had NO curve whatsoever. Looked like a small goaltenders stick. He supposedly has made an adjustment with that.....so lets wait and see. Otherwise, I dont think that really is what is perturbing to Quinn. Its a physical/mental thing......not equipment.

 

[Larrybiv]

I know we get a first rounder, but if you think I won't root against that team in the SCF, you underestimate how petty I am.

Does vindictive fit as well? Welcome to my world @Machinehead It's either in your BLOOD or it isn't. Do you think when people said; ........"all I gotta do is make 1 phone call"........that call was going to be checking in on their Mother?
Think again.

 

[Irishguy42]

You forgot to add that Tampa wins the cup.......
That will give us 5 first rounders..... the moment Zuccha signs on the dotted line.

if everything goes the Rangers way, they will have (for the time being) 6 first round picks over the next two drafts:

4 2019 1st round picks (NYR own, WPG, TBL win Cup, DAL makes WCF)
2 2020 1st round picks (NYR own, DAL re-sign Zucc)

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

more meaningless points for that awesome 11th overall pick!

 

[Larrybiv]

Oh I just wish the misguided talk about Chytil would stop.
It's okay to notice the problems a 19 year old is having in the best league in the world.
It is not okay to assume that noted problems and/or mistakes are not fixable.
It is also not okay to get twisted about his being benched and doesn't play in another Rangers game for 2, 3 or even 4 games. Practice sessions and coaching work on improving players. Forget the short term, forget the knee-jerk.

Couldnt agree more. They see a bad trend on the ice, give him 5ime to fix it, .....then sooner or later you have to pull him.
Working WITH him while games are being played/missed to help make the player more aware, and overall "better".
To his benefit, even though it kills him to NOT play.
Not like he is sitting at home with Mommy, eating doritos all day, and watching the Rangers play at night. It takes a community to raise a kid, and family. What is best for HIM.

 

[Good Intentions]

He brings it HARD for 6 mins a game.

Have to agree. Credit to him for understanding the opportunity to max out. He won't stick, but his 6 minutes of balls out effort is good for the next five weeks.

 

[Beer League Sniper]

You have to hand it to Quinn, he has our guys playing hard. This roster has been decimated over the past 2 seasons, but they refuse to tank.

Frankly, I'm fine with it. I'd rather draft 9th and have a team that plays hard and holds each other accountable for their effort level, than be a cesspool of talent development for a slightly higher chance to draft first overall. Obviously, if we could find a way to do both, that would be awesome, but completely unrealistic.

I look at the teams below us in the standings, and I honestly don't think a single one is a better environment for young, developing players.

If we continue to accrue assets, we're going to hit on one of our picks and get that elite talent. Gorton is doing the right things to put us in a position to get that elite talent.

 

[Vinny DeAngelo]

After He hit Kucherov

 

[eco's bones]

AV's turn the other cheek---play between the whistles approach was not how he coached his Vancouver team and in our Cup run we had guys like Dorsett and Carcillo guys who could push back. The turn the other cheek thing eventually demoralized the team and last year in Nashville it all came to a head when Staal and Vesey were concussed within seconds of each other. The team--even Cody McLeod responded inadequately to that event which IMO was much worse than Girardi backing off of Carcillo after Dan attacked Gaborik. In that game Avery hunted Carcillo down at least. For me that was the last straw but it might have been the moment AV lost his team. There's no doubt in any case that going down the final stretch of last year AV and the team seem almost disconnected from each other.

David Quinn in contrast made it clear right from the beginning that turning the other cheek was not going to happen this year. This team isn't making the playoffs but it's not a demoralized team and we can see progress from the beginning of the season til now. Being proactive physically is not really all that much about dropping gloves and chucking knuckles--it's about competing and taking away time and space from the opposition and making it hard on them all over the ice. When you see someone like Buchnevich running over Tom Wilson the other night when the opportunity presented itself that's a great sign. The team is going in a much better direction now.

 

[SingnBluesOnBroadway]

I understand that improving draft position is important but I hate losing a game like this, that way, against the best team in the league

Say what you want about this team, but they have really never quit. They have shown to be resilient and battl back, no matter what the score. They deserved better than they got last night.

 

[Edge]

I'm very pleased with what I saw tonight. The fight and effort that Quinn gets out of this team speaks volumes as to what a good choice he was to be the head coach. Give this man talent, and I think he'll be a winner. Zibanejad continues to look like a legitimate 1st line center. He's always had the talent. Now he has the confidence to exploit that talent. You can see the same thing taking place with DeAngelo. Gorton has both this upcoming draft and next year's draft to accumulate more assets to the stable. There's a chance to add a lot of additional talent. There just needs to be patience. I think Gorton has identified two aspects in this rebuild that were missing from the last run. First of all, I do think he's targeted high end skill. Finding out that Vesalainen was one of the asks for Hayes, to go along with drafting Kravtsov and Chytil, and trying to move up to draft the likes of Keller and Pettersson tells me he recognized that while the past has skill, it wasn't high end compared to the competition. and, the other aspect was why the past core was disassembled. I remember the night that the Lightning eliminated the Rangers in the ECF in 2015. @Edge was saying that part of the problem with those teams is that they were too easy to play against and that they lacked someone in that locker room that would get in the faces of their teammates. I think Gorton is also adding that element. I know it would be wonderful if the Ranges were bad enough to have Hughes handed to them. But, unless fate steps in, that's likely not going to happen. What Gorton and company need to do is draft their version of a Pastrnak, or Schiefele or Kuznetsov. That's why getting all these assets are essential.

They’re becoming a tough team to play against and I want to see that carry over when the skill level goes up.

 

[Kaapo Cabana]

After He hit Kucherov

love it

 

[kovazub94]

Buchnevich should get more love. People were quick to piss on him when he struggled but are staying mostly silent when he is excelling now. I see Lemieux is given credit for elevating the intensity of the whole team but to me it was Buch. He more than held his own in the fight, he made multiple plays in the defensive zone to relieve the pressure TBL was putting on and similarly made plays in the offensive zone to keep the puck in and continue cycling. What he and Zibanejad did keeping the pressure on in Tampa’s zone during PP and after it expires is why later the tying goal was scored.